Poodle History
Project

The goal of this project is to illuminate the tasks which the Poodle
(and his cousins) were "bred to do". Any breed's job description
defines good temperament, which is always breed-specific. Since form
follows function, good breed-specific conformation makes the designated
tasks easier to perform. For a development of this thesis, see: Dorothy
Macdonald, Poodles: past, present & future, Poodle Club of
America Foundation Seminar, 1997, videotape available for purchase from
PCA.

A comprehensive history of the Poodle does not exist. Neither does
this exist for the several other varieties of European water spaniel,
although evidence in art history indicates that these were a familiar
sight as early as the High Middle Ages. Prior to ca 1870 our knowledge
is sketchy, excepting certain brilliant examples. Meanwhile, we make do
with a series of fascinating sources, which are presented here as an
annotated bibliography in quasi-essay format, organized by function. We
welcome receipt of additional sources.

Preliminary conclusions: Poodles and their "water-dog"
cousins are the original versatile hunting dogs. Water-dogs predate the
use of firearms in waterfowling; to understand their behaviour--what
they were "bred to do"--we must examine what they did before 1600.
Members of the European water-dog family, identified by the dense,
curly, ever-growing coat, are closely related.

Please note: For the purpose of this bibliography,
"if it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's a duck."
Which is to say, if it looks like a Poodle, or a Poodle-cousin,
or a proto-Poodle, we include the reference. These days, the term
"water dog" or "water spaniel", which would be
an accurate English-language tag for many of the long-ago dogs in this
bibliography, has been largely obscured by "poodle" in English. This everyday tag
seems to have shifted gradually: Markham (1621) writes
about water dogges (see
Markham);
"Poodle" Byng was given his popular schoolboy nickname
in the late 18th century at Eton and retained this all his life
(see Companions).
In 1837, this semantic shift remained worthy of comment: "Pudel, or as we
spell it in English, poodle, is a German word, and is used to
designate that race of dogs which formerly used to be called
water-dogs." ("Instructions for Truffle Searching" by V. F. Fischer, and translated
from German by Francis Mascall,
The Gardener's Magazine..., J. C. Louden, ed., vol. III (London 1837),
p. 402.)

We confidently use "poodle" here in our broad catch-all of references.

If you are an art historian wondering if
the art dealer who
named Stubbs' Poodle in a Punt after the break-up of a stately home
at Bristol should instead have called this Water Dog in a Punt,
we can only say that this is also, and perhaps more, accurate.
If you are wondering
if this should be called Norfolk Water Dog in a Punt, you're upping the
ante, because although it is certain that water dogs were widely used in
swampy Norfolk, this raises the question that maybe this specific dog was
brought back
from the Continent, having been bought during the European tour by which
many English young men from stately homes finished their educations, so
maybe it's a Pudel, Poedel or Caniche (all of which are, of course, water dogs).
To take this line of thought further,
it seems very precious and presumptious in the Poodle History Project to call
all the Dutch Poodles, for example, Rembrandt's, "Poedels" and Oudry's "Caniche"
especially since the latter might have been considered Barbets. All of which is a
long way of saying, for the purpose of the Poodle History Project, they're all--
unashamedly--"poodles".

The Poodle History Project is edited and co-ordinated by
pet-Poodle-owner Emily Cain, who is responsible for all errors and
omissions. To contribute to, or correct, the Poodle History Project,
please e-mail

________________ * Rosa Engler, Pudel (Cham, Switzerland:
Muller, 1995) is the best beginners' orientation to the breed, and
contains lots of wonderful
photographs of Poodles doing things. Even if you don't read German,
you'll enjoy it using this English-language
crib by Elizabeth Glew and proofread by
Bryan Crow--and Rosa Engler
herself. Easy way to order the book: send a $US20. bill and a
legible return address to: Rosa Engler, Baiergasse 47, CH-4126
Bettingen/BS, SWITZERLAND. This crib is also linked to our
Poodle History Project volunteers section.